Monday, November 28, 2011

"You cannot fully read a book without being alone. But through this very solitude you become intimately involved with people whom you might never have met otherwise, either because they have been dead for centuries or because they spoke languages you cannot understand. And nonetheless, they have become your closest friends, your wisest advisers, the wizards that hypnotize you, the lovers you have always dreamed of."

~Antonio Munoz Molinas, "The Power of the Pen"

"Perhaps all of us belong in more than one story"

~Dustfinger in Cornelia Funke's Inkdeath

"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for."

Most people will agree that there is a serious problem in our world today- the problem of decreasing attention spans. We can blame many factors on this problem such as: chemicals and toxins in our environment and foods, television, and the video game obsessions. The fact is we as a society have been letting it happen. I believe the way to turn anything around is to start with you and your sphere of influence- your family.

Joseph Epstein in his book, In a Cardboard Belt said the following, “My own speculation is that our speeded up culture- with its FedEx, fax, e-mail, channel surfing, cell-phoning, fast action movies, and other elements in its relentless race against boredom- has ended in a shortened national attention span. The quickened rhythms of new technology are not rhythms congenial to the slow and time-consuming and solitary act of reading. Sustained reading, sitting quietly and enjoying the aesthetic pleasure that words eloquently deployed on the page can give, contemplating careful formulations of complex thoughts- these do not seem likely to be acts strongly characteristic of an already jumpy new century.”

Did you know that you have more brain activity simply staring at a blank wall than

you do when playing a video game or watching TV? Can you imagine the healthy stimulating affects of reading for your brain?

“The test of first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sadly, I’ve notice many appalling things in my life with the increasing use of technology. The first is a lack of quality friendships. (See my post on Are Facebook Friends Stealing Your Reality?) And second is the decline in the ability for people to have conversations with differing opinions. People simple do not know how to have, share, or debate opposing ideas without fuming under the collar, or getting angry, or just remaining mute instead of calming share points of view. Part of this, I believe is that our culture is becoming more and more insistent that we “accept other’s opinions or who they are” without argument or opposition, or in other words that we must become apathetic and have to learn to accept that everyone other than us is right and that we are wrong. And finally, the average person does not have a desire to read deep and life changing classic works or literature as their focus is intent on keeping up with pop culture.

We cannot change everyone, but changing ourselves is a huge start. It is said that that by changing something about yourself as the ripple effect is so large that you can affect 25,000 people. Just you making a change is powerful enough to affect tens of thousands of people.

We have autistic children in our home, children with ADHD and other learning disabilities, but we desire to not succumb to these difficulties. In the Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, he shares hopeful and inspiring stories about how reading has improved not only intelligence and confidence in average children, but disabilities in those who have them.

Here are things we are doing in our family to change these things and to fight the attention span war:

• 10 Minute DEAR sessions- Jim Trelease suggests have ten minute “Drop Everything And Read” times at least once a day. We try to have several in addition to the assigned school reading they have.

• We read aloud to our children daily for 30 minutes to an hour.

• Taking breaks is important, especially for boys who have lots of energy. We try to take breaks every hour. Sometimes the kids will do their chores, other times just mentally regroup, and other times they will go for a run. All of my kids run ages 4-15 at least a mile. The older they get, the longer they run.

• We read classic books and the scriptures. We try to keep all books unabridged if possible.

• Television does not go on at all during the day. Occasionally in the evening, we’ll watch an hour’s worth of wholesome movies as a family. Some recent ones we’ve seen and loved are: Cranford, Return to Cranford, Larkrise to Candleford, and Marco Polo.

• We’ve rid our home of all electronic games with the exception of a few educational games on the computer which are played no more than 3 times a week or less.

• We encourage board games, puzzles, crafts, and games/play that use imagination.

• We encourage daily family discussion during mealtimes and other times to talk about our day, our thoughts, and to teach healthy debating while respecting other’s opinions and feelings.

• Our children play instruments: piano, violin, and viola. These help connect the right and left brain and therefore help with concentration and attention span.

Remember, above all, you are the parent and know what is best for your child. We are reminded in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Teaching them to master their mind, learn self-mastery in all areas of your child’s life, and how to respect others in their learning experiences are invaluable life skills. You too can make drastic changes and improve attention span and intelligence in yourself, in your family, and in the world around you through your example.

Friday, October 14, 2011

At the end of Little Women, Jo and Mr. Bhaer talk of establishing a school for boys.On the surface, Little Men is merely a sweet story about their school, Plumfield, and the children who live there.However, a closer look reveals it to be a rich and inspiring guide filled with lessons on mentoring and teaching.Today, I will focus on three of the lessons I have learned: Teach the Individual, Morals are Key Lessons and Love Your Students.

Note: I have chosen to use the words mentor and student to describe the teaching relationships I am referring to.However, parent and child could just as easily have been used.Please keep this in mind while reading.

Lesson 1:Teach the Individual

Both Jo and Mr. Bhaer knew that they were not teaching a group of children, they were teaching individuals.Even in group settings, they were careful to teach in such a way that they could reach each child.They also took the time to really know the children they cared for: their hopes and dreams, aspirations, faults, passions and desires.This knowledge helped the Bhaers to tailor individual lessons in ways that would benefit the individual child.The following passage illustrates this lesson:

“Emil was… quick tempered, restless and enterprising, bent on going to sea… [Mr. Bhaer] promised that he should go when he was sixteen, and set him to studying navigation, gave him stories of good and famous admirals and heroes to read, and let him lead the life of a frog in river, pond and brook, when lessons were done.”

After all this preparation, did Emil go to sea?I don’t think it matters.The point is: Emil grew to love learning because he was allowed to learn what he was passionate about.Should his passions change, I’m sure the Bhaer’s would be ready to set him on a new course of study.

A student who knows that he is listened to, understood, and cared for by his mentor is one that will work harder and achieve more than one who is merely told to “do lesson 3 and report back when you are finished”.

Lesson 2:Morals are Key Lessons

Rules at Plumfield were “few and sensible”.One would think that few rules might result in anarchy, but that was hardly the case.This was due to the heavy emphasis the Bhaers gave to moral instruction, even more so that that given to academics.

“Boys at other schools probably learned more from books, but less of that better wisdom which makes good men.Latin, Greek, and mathematics were all very well, but in Professor Bhaer’s opinion self-knowledge, self-help, and self-control were more important, and he tried to teach them carefully.”

Accountability was also important at Plumfield.Jo kept a notebook where she would record observations, both good and bad, of each boy’s behavior throughout the week.On Sunday evenings, she would meet with each boy and show him his page.

“If it is bad, I am sorry and disappointed, if it is good, I am glad and proud; but whichever it is, the boys know I want to help them, and they try to do their best for love of me and Father Bhaer.”

My parents once told me about a neighbor who was getting rid of his sofa.He put it out at the curb, with a sign marked “free” attached.No one even gave it a second glance.After a week or so, he changed the sign to $10.Someone stole his sofa that very night.

The point of this story is that no one will value that which we do not.By placing a heavy emphasis on moral instruction, even if it comes at the price of excluding some academic time, and by taking the time to hold accountability meetings, mentors are able to convey to their students the deep importance of such things.

Lesson 3: Love Your Students

Jo believed that “the small hopes and plans and pleasures of children should be tenderly respected by grown up people, and never rudely thwarted or ridiculed.”In other words she actively loved and respected them.

You can hardly go one page without evidence of the Bhaers love for the children under their care.Most touching to me is the way they love Dan.He is a boy that is perhaps both the most difficult to love and at the same time, the one who needs it the most.He come to them from the streets and is filled to the brim with anger and bad habits.He swears, fights and causes general mayhem in the house.After one particular instance, Asia, the cook, hopes he will get what is coming to him, but Mr. Bhaer instead gives him the task of repairing some of the damage he has created.

“Then Mr. Bhaer shook hands with him, and Dan went down more tamed by kindness than he would have been by the good whipping which Asia had strongly recommended.”

When Dan’s behavior reaches the point where he is far too damaging to the rest of household (teaching some of the other boys to gamble, smoke and drink), he is sent away from Plumfield.However, even this terrible consequence is done with love and the hope that he will one day return.When it looks as though the Bhaers have failed and Dan is lost forever, they refuse to give up hope.Ultimately, it is this love and belief in Dan’s inherent goodness that helps him to find his way back.Through this love, he is inspired to change and become more than he was.

Loving your students is by far the most important lesson in Little Men, and the one that makes the others effective.It’s like the old adage, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”It is very difficult to inspire anything: learning, behavioral changes, growth, without love.

It is love that makes it possible to know and teach individuals.It is love that changes moralizing to teaching morals.Love is the key to powerful and effective mentoring.

I have been trying to apply these three lessons at home with my own child and in other areas where I am called to mentor and teach.As I apply the teachings of the Bhaers by focus on loving, knowing and teaching individuals with a strong emphasis on morals, I am already seeing a shift in my mentoring relationships.It appears to me that Plumfield may have turned out another successful student.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

I’ve been thinking about Mr. Allen all day. I remember the first day of his class, High School Sophomore English, more than 20 years ago. He was slightly crippled and used a cane to help him walk. Each leg swung far to the outside with every step he took. Slowly, he made his way to the front of the classroom. Like I did with all teachers, I quickly summed him up: slow walk, John Lennon glasses, long red beard, kind of “hippy” looking... Mr. Allen would be easy. I should be able to get away with a minimum of work and a maximum of goofing off.I remember the first thing he asked the class, “How do people learn?” I wondered what the “right” answer to that was. How do people learn? By going to school? By taking tests? By doing homework? All of these answers were submitted by the class, but quickly rejected by Mr. Allen. After many more guesses, someone in the back called out, “We don’t know. You tell us.”Mr. Allen replied with a “You don’t know how to learn? How sad.”After the laughter died down, he told us the answer: “People learn through stories.”I didn’t really believe him. Even as he went on to talk about ancient tribes gathering around the cooking fire to share their histories, legends and oral traditions, to the transformative power of religious texts, Shakespeare and even Dr. Seuss, I remained largely unconvinced.I had always loved reading. I grew up in a troubled home and reading was my escape. From an early age, I read every kind of story I could get my hands on… but that wasn’t learning. That was fun, relaxation, or relief from the pressures of my life. Learning happened at school, right?Fast forward a few years and you would find me sitting in an American History class in college. I was taking notes on a lecture about the Civil War. When I read the chapter in the textbook I felt intrigued, but listening to the passion coming from the professor was more than intriguing; it was inspiring. I wanted to know more about the Civil War. I wanted to be able to speak with such informed passion. The problem was I didn’t know how to get there. The thought of walking into a library and just picking up a book was overwhelming to me. With a subject so wide and deep, which books would give me the information I wanted? What I really needed, but didn’t recognize at the time, was a mentor, someone to help me find quality sources that would enrich my understanding and guide me through my effort to earn the knowledge I desired. I remember leaving the class that day feeling frustrated at wanting to learn more, to be more, but not knowing how. I got an A in American History, but didn’t gain much else.I didn’t know how to learn. How sad. Fast forward again, many years later, and you will find me as a wife and mother. My husband and I do not send our daughter, "Newt" to school, but have chosen to help her seek her education at home. I consider myself blessed to have been acquainted with the principles of Thomas Jefferson Education early in my journey, though I feel that even three years later, I am just now beginning to gain an understanding and appreciation for them.Earlier this week, I tried to answer the question, “What is TJED?” It was a hard question. I wrote two pages about the 4 phases of learning and the 7 keys of great teaching, but never got to the essence of what a Thomas Jefferson Education really is.Last Sunday I made banana bread. My TJED essay was like being asked about my banana bread and me replying that it had some bananas, sugar and flour, eggs and yogurt, crystallized ginger, chocolate chips and some other things I don’t remember.A partial list of ingredients doesn’t even begin to tell what that banana bread was. It doesn’t mention the way that I personalized the recipe to fit my family’s tastes and values, like the farm fresh eggs and homemade yogurt I used in place of commercial products. It doesn’t tell about how the comforting smell of bananas and cinnamon filled my home while it baked. It certainly doesn’t mention how dense and rich the final product was, or how the spicy bite of ginger perfectly balanced the bittersweet coolness of melting chocolate on my tongue. And how could that sad little list ever begin to convey the feeling of warm satisfaction my family had after eating that delicious banana bread? Indeed, the only way for someone to really get a sense of what that treat was like is to cut off a big slice, slather it with freshly whipped cream and experience it for yourself.The same goes for a Thomas Jefferson Education. The only way to really know what it is is to dive in and experience for yourself. All I can do is try to relate what it is to me.

TJED is freedom.All morning as I’ve contemplated this idea, I’ve had a few lines from The Lion King’s I Just Can’t Wait to be King running through my head:No one saying do this No one saying be there No one saying stop that No one saying see here Free to run around all day Free to do it all my way!I have come to recognize that even as young as she is, Newt has a right to choose what she learns. I could (and have tried to from time to time) force facts into her head, but that is not learning, that is submitting.Of course, this freedom does not mean a free-for-all anything goes mentality – not in TJED philosophy and not in our home. We are guided by the principles and values we learn in our personal core classic. For our family, the core classic is the twin works of the Bible and Book of Mormon. As we study and discuss these works daily, they give us a framework on which to build our lives. From there, we can choose other good works and pursuits to further inspire and build us.Through the principles of TJED, I have the freedom to study. It is not selfish to fulfill my own desires to learn and to know. As my daughter and I each progress in our personal studies, there is freedom to become whatever we desire and to learn what we will need to fulfill our individual life missions. There is freedom to learn at our own pace without the artificial limits imposed by the hourly bell, semesters and grades. Without those constraints, we are free to explore our individual passions and interests, whatever they may be.Last summer, my daughter and I were jumping on our trampoline together when our conversation turned to books. I remember it clearly because it was one of the first fruits of TJED I had been able to really experience in our family. “Mom, you know what I think? I think The Lord of the Rings is kind of like the scriptures. You know when Sam carries Frodo? That’s a lot like Jesus sacrificing for each of us. Harry Potter is like that too, when he is willing to die for his friends. They make me want to try to be better. Do you know any books like that?”What if I had not deemed those books “worthy academic pursuits”? Or worse, what if I had killed them with endless worksheets and literary analysis? I know they would not have become a part of my daughter’s soul the way they have, nor would she trust me with any feelings that survived the “educating” process.

TJED both builds and requires trust.As I consciously try to keep from imposing my own will upon my daughter’s studies, she gains a greater trust in me. She trusts me to guide and teach, not dictate or require.Trust is required in those dark times I lie awake at night fighting the demons of worry.Is she learning enough?What if she never decides to learn long-division?Am I doing enough?Am I doing too much?Would she do better in school?Is she behind?And then I think of the children of A Wrinkle in Time’s Camazotz. Each was required to be perfect. Every citizen had surrendered his freedom to It. There was no worry, but there was no joy. That was the price of absolute conformity, of giving up their rights to choose.I can not know that this path will lead my child to worldly standards of success, but I can know, because I see growing evidence of it each day, that it will teach her to think and to choose for herself. I know that freedom can be messy, painful, and challenging, but also joyful and immensely satisfying. I trust that with the help of her mentors, my daughter will choose the education she will need to be who she is meant to be.TJED is hard work, but that doesn’t always mean drudgery.Reading Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyertogether we learned

Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do and play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help [Tom] to understand why constructing artificial flowers or performing on a treadmill is work, while rolling ten pins or climbing Mount Blanc is only amusement. There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service, that would turn it into work and they would resign.

Once again, it all hinges on freedom.TJED is relationships. It always saddens me when I hear people wishing that their children’s vacation would come to an end and they would go back to school. Working and studying together, having meaningful discussions and playing all contribute to a rich and full family culture. Though our relationships are far from perfect, we truly love to be together. My husband and I have recently sought to strengthen our daughter’s familial relationships beyond our own home with weekly Family History lessons at Grandma’s. While she may be learning about family group sheets and the census, the deeper lessons are about belonging. Today she came home with stories about one great-grandfather who was one of the forest rangers to rescue Smoky the Bear and another who made the coffin for the man who killed Billy the Kid. These stories become a part of who she is and how she views the world.TJED is classics. The scriptures, Shakespeare, Dickens, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, A Wrinkle in Time, Tom Sawyer, mythology, poetry, biographies and histories, mathematics and science – all classics have a way of getting inside of us and we can not remain unchanged. The more we study, together or on our own, the more we learn about ourselves. When confronted with a difficult situation, we can draw on the character attributes of Pollyanna, Ralph Moody, Jane Eyre, Sophie Germain or even my own Grandpa Hill and gain strength. To paraphrase what my daughter told me, good books make us want to be a better people.To a certain degree, each person is the author of his own life. We have chosen that TJED will be a central theme in our family’s.It may have come twenty years later, but I have discovered the truth: people do learn by stories.I think Mr. Allen would be proud.

What is TJED to you?

Meet Heidi, our newest TJED Mothers contributor.Heidi is a stay-at-homeschooling mama to "Newt" age 10 and a best-friend, partner and wife to Walt. Nothing else she does will ever be as important.Heidi blogs at Frantically Simple about homeschooling, parenting, real food, and life in general. Check out her new series there - For Thy Sake: Teaching Children to Value Family Work.

The author is using amazon affiliate links. Any purchases made through these links will result in the author receiving a small commission. All opinions and text are her own.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

“Your home must run like a well oiled machine” is a comment I hear upon occasion when people find I have a large family, run a business at home, and homeschool. More often than not it does because I’m training my kids to help in all areas of home and family life, large or small. We have our off days like everyone else, but our norm is everyone working together to keep our home in line. The reason behind the madness is not necessarily to have a “well-oiled machine” but to train future adults who live their lives as thriving adults, active citizens in their great nation, and who are not lazy but who appreciate the value of hard work. These qualities are essential for every child to learn for a happy and productive life as a child, teen, and adult...

Monday, May 16, 2011

Its so exciting for a bibliophile to live in the land of books. There are at least six used books stores in our area not including the thrift stores.With eight homeschooling kids I feel it is imperative to have a family library.

“I cannot live without books” Thomas Jefferson once said. No one should live without books! Books uplift. Books inspire. Books teach. The teaching done through books encompasses many areas: vocabulary, life experiences, knowledge, learning, and the list goes on and on. There is no doubt that books are important.

A library is, according to Webster’s Dictionary, “A place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale.” A Family Library is more than just a collection of books that a family accumulates. A family library is a library of books that a family accumulates for themselves and their posterity. Great care should go into the collecting of books for this library, because the family knows the worth of such a library. Many great men in history had their own extensive family libraries. Thomas Jefferson sold his collection of 6, 487 books to re-start the library of congress. That is an admirably sized library!

Why have your own library of books?

Why go through the expense and trouble of creating your own family library? There are many reasons, but I only plan to include the more important ones.

The first reason is so that you and your family are always learning. “It is a great mistake to think that education is finished when young people leave school. Education is never finished.” Mrs. Child in The Mother’s Book. (More of this article here at the TJED website.)

I found the above books at a bookstore that specializes in old books. The Oz & Dr. Doolittle books belong to one of the following collections.

List of "canonical" Oz books
By L. Frank Baum

1 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900

Dorothy and her little dog, Toto, get swept into the Land of Oz by a cyclone. She meets a living Scarecrow, a man made entirely of tin, and a Cowardly Lion while trying to get to the Emerald City to see the great Wizard. Also reprinted by various publishers under the names The New Wizard of Oz and The Wizard of Oz with occasional minor changes in the text.

2 The Marvelous Land of Oz 1904

A little boy, Tip, escapes from his evil guardian, the witch Mombi, with the help of a walking wooden figure with a jack-o'-lantern head named Jack Pumpkinhead (brought to life with the magic Powder of Life Tip stole from Mombi), as well as a living Sawhorse (created from the same powder). Tip ends up on an adventure with the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman.

3 Ozma of Oz 1907

While traveling to Australia with her Uncle Henry, Dorothy is swept overboard with a hen named Billina. They land in Ev, a country across the desert from Oz, and, together with new-found mechanical friend Tik-Tok, they must save Ev's royal family from the evil Nome King. With Princess Ozma's help, they finally return to Oz.

4 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz 1908

On her way back from Australia, Dorothy visits her cousin, Zeb, in California. They are soon swallowed up by an earthquake, along with Zeb's horse Jim and Dorothy's cat Eureka. The group soon meets up with the Wizard and all travel underground back to Oz.

5 The Road to Oz 1909

Dorothy meets the Shaggy Man, and while trying to find the road to Butterfield, they get lost on an enchanted road. As they travel they meet the rainbow's daughter, Polychrome, and a little boy, Button-Bright. They have all sorts of strange adventures on the way to Oz.

6 The Emerald City of Oz 1910

Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em come to live in Oz permanently. While they tour through the Quadling Country, the Nome King is tunneling beneath the desert to invade Oz.

7 The Patchwork Girl of Oz 1913
A Munchkin boy named Ojo must find a cure to free his Uncle Nunkie from a magical spell that has turned him into a statue. With the help of Scraps, a living Patchwork Girl, Ojo journeys through Oz in order to save his uncle.

8 Tik-Tok of Oz 1914

Betsy Bobbin, a girl from Oklahoma, is shipwrecked with her mule, Hank, in the Rose Kingdom. She meets the Shaggy Man there and the two try to rescue the Shaggy Man's brother from the Nome King. This book is partly based upon Baum's stage musical, The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, which was in turn based on Ozma of Oz.

9 The Scarecrow of Oz 1915

Cap'n Bill and Trot journey to Oz and, with the help of the Scarecrow, overthrow the cruel King Krewl of Jinxland. Cap'n Bill and Trot had previously appeared in two other novels by Baum, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. Based in part upon the 1914 silent film, His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz.

10 Rinkitink in Oz 1916

Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink and their companions have adventures that lead to the land of the Nomes and, eventually, Oz. Baum originally wrote this book as a non-Oz book entitled King Rinkitink.

11 The Lost Princess of Oz 1917

Concerning the disappearance of Princess Ozma, the ruler of Oz. When she is discovered missing, four search parties are sent out, one for each of Oz's four countries. Most of the book covers Dorothy and the Wizard's efforts to find her. Meanwhile, Cayke the Cookie Cook discovers that her magic dishpan (on which she bakes her famous cookies) has been stolen. Along with the Frogman, they leave their mountain in the Winkie Country to find the pan.

12 The Tin Woodman of Oz 1918

The Tin Woodman, Nick Chopper, is unexpectedly reunited with his Munchkin sweetheart Nimmie Amee from the days when he was flesh and blood. Along the way, Nick discovers a fellow tin man, Captain Fyter, as well as a Frankenstein monster-like creature, Chopfyt, made from their combined parts by the tinsmith, Ku-Klip.
13 The Magic of Oz 1919

Ruggedo, former Nome King, tries to conquer Oz again with the help of a Munchkin boy, Kiki Aru. Meanwhile, it is also Ozma's birthday, and all of Oz's citizens are searching for the most unusual present for the little princess. This was published a month after Baum's death.

14 Glinda of Oz 1920

Dorothy, Ozma and Glinda try to stop a war in the Gillikin Country. This was Baum's last Oz book, and was published posthumously. Most critics agree this is Baum's darkest Oz book, most likely due to his failing health.
Doctor DoLittle Series
By Hugh Lofting

I recently went used book shopping with a girlfriend of mine and she remarked that she doesn't really know what titles to look for when she goes shopping. I completely know how she feels because before I met my book mentor I didn't know where to look or even have a store of knowledge of any classics books with the exception of a small handful. My hope is with this blog that you are becoming more and more aware of many titles that you were not aware of before. I invite you to share your book lists or blogs with book ideas so this can be a collaborative effort as I enjoy learning more titles or books too.~

September 11, 2001
9/11 have them read the actual 9/11 commission report...it is filled with tons of details, and they mapped together the string of events, and it will make you cry or at the least sick in your soul, as they have all the 9-11 calls and describe it.

The Great Depression
Grapes of Wrath for the Depression Era
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman

Japan's Nuclear Accident
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Meltdown: A Race Against Nuclear Disaster at Three Mile Island: A Reporter's Story by Wilborn Hampton

World War 1
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Red Baron by Freiherr von Manfred Richthofen

Civil War
Across Five Aprils
Red Badge Of Courage - Civil War and a fantastic book
Uncle Tom's Cabin
G. A. Henty for civil war
Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Robert E. Lee and the Road of Honor (Landmark Books)

Learning the stories behind the events is more powerful than just reading dry facts from a textbook. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "A person's voice has always held more power over us than words alone."

She's already nearly finished with the Eleanor Roosevelt book and is so excited about these topics. That makes a mentor mama soooo happy!

This is part four in the series as the book lists I have to share are VERY long. Keep checking in for new lists. Some of these books you may or may not recognize from your own childhood. One thing I love about book lists is being reminded of good books I may have forgotten about. Time to rekindle some pleasant memories and make new ones with our children today.

Seven Little Rabbits by John E. Becker
Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne and H. A. Rey
The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet by Geraldine McCaughrean
Felix Feels Better by Rosemary Wells
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert L. Stevenson (Goldenbooks series)
The Amazing Bone (Reading Rainbow Books) by William Steig

And just for fun, here is a YouTube video about the author of Mary Poppins:

TJED is based on Classically based books and mentoring. Start buying and reading the suggested books and see which ones will work for you and your family library. For those who missed where I got these book lists, I received from a good friend who is well versed in classic books for kids and has a house filled with bookshelves full of classic books for children. Several afternoons she had me come and copy down the titles so I could start my collection. Thank you, Linda! I've also been finding titles on my own that we are adding to our collection.

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Would you like to be a contributing writer on this blog? Do you practice A Thomas Jefferson homeschool method in your home? We would love for you to blog with us!Email Shiloah Baker at shiloah (at) homemaking-cottage.com .

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"A Thomas Jefferson Education looks different in every home—and yours is no exception! Each family, whether large or small, has unique needs, ideas, and traditions, but sometimes, as parents, we try so hard to follow the “right way to do TJEd,” that we lose sight of those things in our homes that work! You have to develop our own style of TJEd—one designed specifically for your home."